New Android: 2015

Get ready for the sweet taste of Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Today we’re starting to roll out Android 6.0 Marshmallow to Nexus users. Of course, the new Nexus 5X and 6P will ship with Android 6.0, straight from the factory. Android Marshmallow is the sweetest, smartest Android version yet: Now on Tap serves up assistance when you need it, battery-smart features keep your device going longer, and new app permissions give you even more control.

Assistance in the moment

Get help with what you need no matter which app you’re in. Now on Tap — a feature unique to Android Marshmallow — stays on task alongside you, instantly pulling up relevant info and helping you get more done. Say you receive an email about meeting a friend at the Central Park Zoo. Just tap and hold on the home button, and Now on Tap will assist you by providing links to information about the zoo, shortcuts to relevant apps and even suggest a calendar entry for the date, time and location.

A longer lasting device thanks to a smarter, more efficient battery

Improving battery life isn’t just about building a bigger battery. It’s also about improving the way your device uses the charge it has. With Android Marshmallow, we’ve added two new features which dramatically decrease your device’s thirst for power.

With Doze, Android recognizes when your device is idle and automatically goes into a deep sleep state to conserve power. To see how well it works, we took a bunch of Nexus 5s and Nexus 6s, put Lollipop on half of them and Marshmallow on the other half, and measured standby battery life. The screen-off time of these devices running Marshmallow lasted 30%* longer on average! So even if you forget to plug in your phone before bed, your phone’s alarm clock will still ring. The other new battery-conserving feature is called App Standby. This puts your seldom used apps into a reduced activity state to conserve battery for the apps you use more frequently.

More choice and control to protect your privacy

Android Marshmallow gives you the ability to customize and control which capabilities you give apps. With the new app permissions model, you pick and choose which permissions to grant apps at the time of use. Apps designed for Android Marshmallow only ask for a permission at the time it’s needed to use a feature. You can deny any permission and still continue to use the app. In addition, we’ve added new settings for permissions that allow you to turn on and off any permission, for any app, at any time.

Simplified security with your fingerprint

For fingerprint sensor enabled devices, Android Marshmallow gives you a new way to protect your device. On Marshmallow, your fingerprint is the gatekeeper to unlocking your device, authorizing transactions in the Google Play Store, signing into 3rd party apps, and zipping through checkout with Android Pay.

Set up your new device lickety-split

On Lollipop, Android made it easier to set up your new phone from your old one, migrating your apps and app data. With Android Marshmallow, you can breeze through setup on your Android TV or tablet too. Say "OK Google, set up my device" from your phone and you’ll quickly be up and running. For TV, we'll even transfer over your Wi-Fi passwords.

Coming to a device near you, starting today

Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9 and Nexus Player will get an over the air software update** to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. In addition to the new Nexus 5X and 6P, keep your eyes peeled for other new devices shipping with Android 6.0. Finally, we know many of you take your devices to work. To learn more about security and other work features in Android Marshmallow, register for the Android for Work Live online event on Nov. 4th. This is just a taste of Marshmallow but you can learn s’more on android.com/marshmallow!

Posted by Brian Rakowski, VP of Product Management, Android

*Actual battery performance will vary and depends on many factors including signal strength, network configuration, battery age, operating temperature, features selected, device settings, and voice, data, and other application usage patterns.

**The Nexus update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow occurs in stages and some carriers will receive the update later than others.

Get ready for Fall TV on Android TV

More apps for you to enjoy
We can't guarantee Carrie Mathison will capture Haqqani. We’re not sure what groundbreaking global issues VICE will cover. And we can’t tell you if Sheldon and Amy will get back together.

What we do know is that you can find out for yourself with SHOWTIME®*, HBO NOW*, and CBS All Access, now available on Android TV. So go ahead and catch up on Homeland, VICE, The Big Bang Theory and hundreds of other shows from your favorite apps.

Disney fans, we’ve also got you covered. Disney Movies Anywhere is now available on Android TV so you can watch your favorite Disney movies on the big screen and anywhere you go. Disney princesses not your thing? Well, with EPIX now available, you can choose from thousands of movies, concerts and comedy specials to stream right from your living room.

Fight lovers, we didn’t forget about you. Tune in to WWE and UFC, now both available on Android TV, and never miss a battle in the ring.

In addition to these apps, you can always check out the full list of over 50 premium Android TV apps available for download.

More partners joining the Android TV ecosystem
Android TV is all about choice. Whether you’re looking for a new shiny Smart TV or an amazing gaming console experience, you have an abundance of options to choose from - Sony, Sharp, Razer, Nvidia. And today, we’re adding to your list of options by welcoming Hisense, TCL, and several other smart TV manufacturers to the Android TV family.

Pay TV operators can also be powered by Android TV, letting you seamlessly watch your TV service alongside all the great apps and games on Android TV. With that, we’re also excited to announce Pace, Sagemcom, Technicolor as set-top box manufacturers and KDDI and Telecom Italia as partners who will bring you their Pay TV services powered by Android TV. Now you can enjoy more ways to watch your favorite entertainment.

So, as the nights get longer and colder, you now have another reason to stay in and binge on your favorite TV shows, movies, and sports content right from your Android TV screen.

The end of summer isn't too bad after all.

Note that you may need to sign in with a subscription or participating TV provider account to access some content.

Posted by George Audi, Business Development Manager, Google Play

*SHOWTIME and HBO NOW currently supported on select Android TV devices

Committing to RCS, the latest standard in carrier messaging

Mobile messaging has never been more central to people’s lives, and there is an incredible amount of innovation happening with chat applications across the mobile ecosystem. SMS carrier messaging is used by billions of people every day and enables people to reach anyone around the world, regardless of their device, carrier, app or location. However, the features available in SMS haven’t kept up with modern messaging apps. Rich Communications Services (RCS) is a new standard for carrier messaging and brings many of the features that people now expect from mobile messaging, such as group chats, high res photos and more.

Many leaders in the wireless industry have already put great work into laying the foundation for RCS, and we’ve heard from many of them that there are ways Android can help. We’re excited to team up with mobile operators, device makers and the rest of the Android ecosystem to support RCS standards and help accelerate their deployment in a more consistent way. We’re already working closely with many of our partners on implementing RCS, and look forward to growing the RCS ecosystem together.

As part of this commitment, we’re also very excited to announce that the Jibe Mobile team is joining Google to help us bring RCS to a global audience. Jibe is a leading provider of RCS services and they’ll continue helping carriers easily deploy RCS to their users. We can’t wait to work with them and build on the great work that they’ve already done.

Deploying RCS to create an even better messaging experience on Android will take time and collaboration throughout the wireless industry, but we’re excited to get started.

Posted by Mike Dodd, Android RCS Software Engineer and Minister of Messaging

S’more to love across all your screens

(Cross posted on the Official Google Blog)

From your watch to your phone to your TV, we want to help you stay connected, entertained and informed across all your screens. Today we’re introducing a few new things that do just that: two Nexus phones, a tablet for work and play, updates to Chromecast and features for some of your favorite apps—all working together to make your day a little bit easier and more fun.

New Nexus phones

We made Android to be an open platform that anyone can build on, and today there are 4,000+ Android devices in all shapes and sizes. Android’s diversity is why it’s become the most popular mobile platform in the world, and the latest version, Marshmallow, takes Android to a new level of performance.

While we love all the Android devices out there, every year we build Nexus devices to show off the latest and greatest, directly from the people who built Android. Today we’re introducing the latest Nexus treats, both running Marshmallow, sweetened by amazing apps and sandwiched by some cutting-edge hardware (see what we did there?):

Nexus 6P is the first all-metal-body Nexus phone. Built in collaboration with Huawei, this 5.7” phone is crafted from aeronautical-grade aluminum, with a USB Type-C port for fast charging, a powerful 64-bit processor, and a 12.3 MP camera sensor with massive 1.55µm pixels (hello, better photos!). The Nexus 6P starts at $499.
You’re not the only one who misses your Nexus 5. We’ve joined forces with LG to bring it back with the new Nexus 5X, which gives you great performance in a compact and light package, with a beautiful 5.2” screen and the same 12.3 MP camera and Type-C port as the Nexus 6P. Nexus 5X starts at $379.

Both phones include a new fingerprint sensor, Nexus Imprint, which gives you quick and secure access to your phone, as well as use of Android Pay (in the U.S.). They are available for pre-order on the Google Store from a number of countries, including the U.S., U.K., Ireland and Japan, and come with a free 90-day subscription to Google Play Music. In the U.S., pre-orders include a $50 Play credit to help you stock up your favorite music, apps, games and shows. And, finally, for you Project Fi fans out there, you'll be happy to know Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X will work on your favorite network. Request an invite to our Early Access Program at fi.google.com.

Pixel C

We’re expanding the Pixel family by introducing the first Android tablet built end-to-end by Google. The Pixel C brings together the benefits of a full-size keyboard with the portability of a tablet. The tablet and keyboard attach magnetically (no docking mechanism FTW), so it’s easy to switch between typing and using the touch screen.

And if you’re familiar with the Chromebook Pixel, you’ll immediately see the family resemblance: the Pixel C has the same beautiful aluminum design, great display and USB Type-C port. The Pixel C will be available in time for the holidays on the Google Store.

Cast ALL the things

Today we’re introducing two new Chromecast devices. The new Chromecast has a fresh design, and is easier to plug into TVs with crowded ports. It supports the latest Wi-Fi standards and adapts more easily to changing Wi-Fi conditions in your home, so you get higher quality video with less buffering. Most importantly, we added two new colors. ;)

Chromecast Audio is a small device that plugs into your existing speakers, so you can stream your favorite music, radio and podcasts over Wi-Fi, similar to Chromecast. It works with tons of apps, including Spotify, Pandora and Google Play Music. Just like Chromecast, it works from anywhere in your home with your favorite devices, including Android, iOS, and laptops. And it’s available on the Google Store and other online retailers for just $35—way less than most Wi-Fi speakers today.

We’ve also updated the Chromecast app to make it easier for you to find great things to watch or to play, across the thousands of apps that work with Chromecast—whether you feel like browsing or want to search for a specific TV show or movie. For Cast-enabled apps that aren’t already on your phone, we’ll suggest one for you. The updated Chromecast app is rolling out on Android and iOS over the next few weeks.

Your favorite apps... for the whole family

All your shiny devices get even better when you have great apps to go with them. So we’re making a few updates to Google Play Music and Google Photos.

First, Google Play Music will offer a new family plan later this year. Up to six people will be able to use one account for a shared fee of $14.99 a month (instead of $9.99 per person). Get the dance party ready.

Sharing is a theme of today’s Google Photos updates, too. We’re adding Chromecast support to give you that old-school slideshow experience—dimmed lights optional. In the U.S., you can now add private labels to your photos to make it easier to search for specific pics of people with things, places or other people—say, that photo of Mom at the Grand Canyon, or of your daughter with her pet bunny. And soon you’ll be able to pool all your photos and videos with friends and family in one place, and get updates as soon as new photos are added. Best of all, there’s no setup involved, and you can use any device. So that dance party we mentioned earlier? Now it’s easier to gather all the memories from everyone who was there.

More to love, for more people

From Nexus to Chromecast to Pixel C to Photos, these updates are more than the sum of their parts—they unite great apps with devices that are designed to support them. They’re built to work together, so they do—seamlessly, across all your screens.

Posted by Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP Android, Chromecast and Chrome OS at Google

Tap to the Red Carpet

Last week, we announced the US rollout of Android Pay. To celebrate our launch, we’re giving one lucky winner plus three of their friends a VIP trip to Mexico City that includes four seats at the premiere of the thrilling new James Bond film, Spectre from Sony Pictures.

To qualify, just tap and pay at any of the over one million locations where Android Pay is accepted across the US between September 28 and October 15, 2015. Each day that you use Android Pay earns you one entry, and you can earn up to 18 entries during the promotional period. The grand prize winner will be drawn at random on October 19, 2015, and you can find more information by visiting the official promotional page.

To start tapping your way to the red carpet, make sure you have Android Pay on your phone. If you don't have it yet, you can download Android Pay on Google Play. Good luck, and we hope to see you on the red carpet.

Posted by Sherice Torres, Marketing Director, Android Pay

For official rules, how to enter, prize restrictions, and details, click here.

Tap. Pay. Done.

Today, we’re beginning to roll out Android Pay -- the simple and secure way to pay with your Android phone at over one million locations across the US. Android Pay also stores your gift cards, loyalty cards and special offers right on your phone. We’ll be rolling out gradually over the next few days, and this is just the beginning. We will continue to add even more features, banks and store locations in the coming months, making it even easier to pay with your Android phone.

The choice is yours
Android Pay works with all NFC-enabled Android devices (running KitKat 4.4+), on any mobile carrier, at every tap and pay ready location across the US. Android Pay will support credit and debit cards from the four major payment networks: American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa. These cards are issued by many of the most popular US banks and credit unions, including American Express, Bank of America, Discover, Navy Federal Credit Union, PNC, Regions Bank, USAA, and U.S. Bank. Wells Fargo will be available in the next few days, Capital One and Citi are coming soon, and we're adding new banks all the time.

Shop at your favorites
You can use Android Pay at over one million locations (and counting…) across the US, everywhere tap and pay payments are accepted, including:

Security is at the center of Android Pay

We know how important it is to keep your personal and financial information secure, so Android Pay is supported by industry standard tokenization. This means your real credit or debit card number isn't sent with your payment. Instead, we’ll use a virtual account number that provides an extra layer of security. As soon as you make a purchase, you’ll see a payment confirmation that shows where a given transaction happened, so it’s easy to catch any suspicious activity. And if your phone is ever lost or stolen, simply use Android Device Manager to instantly lock your device from anywhere, secure it with a new password, or even wipe it clean of your personal information.

We’re just getting started...
Later this year, you’ll also be able to use Android Pay to speed through mobile checkout in your favorite apps. And with select merchants, you'll soon be able to transmit your loyalty cards and special offers with just a tap. We’ll be announcing more Android Pay news soon, and would love to hear your feedback on the Android Pay experience (just select Help > Feedback in the app).

If you’re an existing Google Wallet user, you’ll be able to access Android Pay through an update to your Wallet app. For new users, Android Pay will be available for download on Google Play in the next few days, and will come preinstalled on new NFC-enabled Android phones from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless.

For updates on Android Pay and other Android news, subscribe to this blog, or follow Android on Twitter and Google+.

Posted by Pali Bhat, Director of Product Management, Android Pay

p.s. Looking to send or receive money right from your phone? Click here to learn more about the new Google Wallet

Update: Citi's availability corrected to rolling out in the coming weeks.

Android Wear: New watch styles and sizes

As the season turns, it's the perfect time to update your look: out with swimsuits and flip flops, and in with scarves and Fall coats! Regardless of where your wardrobe lands, today's new Android Wear watches let you express your style—whether you rock Android or iPhone.

Get the Huawei Watch in six different designs with silver, gold, and black metal finishes. With an ultra-high resolution display, you’ll get a crystal clear view of all 40+ built-in watch faces. The watch’s sensors let you track not only running and walking, but also stair climbing.
Choose between the small or large ASUS ZenWatch 2, starting at $129. Both come in silver, rose gold, and gunmetal finishes with bands of different styles and materials. Get instant access to agenda and email with the built-in productivity app as well as fitness reminders with the wellness app.
Check out four new Moto 360 watches: Moto 360 for Women, Moto 360 in two different sizes, and Moto 360 Sport. Pick among rose gold, gold, silver, and black metal finishes for Moto 360 and a variety of stainless steel and leather bands. Want to go on a run without your phone? The Moto 360 Sport features built-in GPS and a display that’s easy to read outdoors.

All of today's watches also include improved battery life, always-on displays, and quick-release bands, so it's even easier to glance at your important info, and make your watch your own.

The Huawei Watch, Moto 360 for Women, and new Moto 360 are available for pre-order today. And all other watches will go on sale in the coming weeks. So choose the watch that fits your style and wear exactly what you want!

Posted by Ryan Barnett, Partner Technology Manager, Android Wear

Android Wear now works with iPhones

Editor's note: As of September 2, you can check out new watches from Huawei, ASUS, and Motorola that all work with iPhones.

(Cross posted on the Official Google Blog)

When you wear something every day, you want to be sure it really works for you. That’s why Android Wear offers countless design choices, so you can find the watch that fits your style. Want a round watch with a more classic look? Feel like a new watch band? How about changing things up every day with watch faces from artists and designers? With Android Wear you can do all of that. And now, Android Wear watches work with iPhones.

Android Wear for iOS is rolling out today. Just pair your iPhone (iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, or 6 Plus running iOS 8.2+) with an Android Wear watch to bring simple and helpful information right to your wrist:

Get your info at a glance: Check important info like phone calls, messages, and notifications from your favorite apps. Android Wear features always-on displays, so you’ll never have to move your wrist to wake up your watch.
Follow your fitness: Set fitness goals, and get daily and weekly views of your progress. Your watch automatically tracks walking and running, and even measures your heart rate.
Save time with smart help: Receive timely tips like when to leave for appointments, current traffic info, and flight status. Just say “Ok Google” to ask questions like “Is it going to rain in London tomorrow?” or create to-dos with “Remind me to pack an umbrella.”

Today, Android Wear for iOS works with the LG Watch Urbane. All future Android Wear watches, including those from Huawei (pictured above), ASUS, and Motorola will also support iOS, so stay tuned for more.

Dr. Seuss once said: “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” We agree. So whoever You are, and whatever You like—Android Wear lets you wear what you want.

Posted by David Singleton, Director of Engineering, Android Wear

Android Wear: Stay connected with interactive watch faces

Wearing a watch lets you tell time with just a glance. Android Wear has expanded this at-a-glance experience to other useful info like your next meeting, daily step count, or messages. Today, we’re launching interactive watch faces, making it easier (and more fun) to stay connected, right from your wrist. Now, with just a tap, your watch face can change its design, reveal more information, or even launch a specific app.

Bits: Choose the info you want at a glance—from weather, to unread mail, to upcoming meetings. Want to know this afternoon’s weather forecast? Just tap on the weather complication.

Under Armour: Stay motivated with fitness stats on your wrist. Tap the watch face to see your step count, calories burned, and distance.

Together: Android Wear’s Together Watch Face lets two people stay close throughout the day by turning the entire watch face into a space for sharing. Once you’ve paired your watch face with a partner’s, you’ll be able to share things like photos and emoji, as well as your activities (like if you’re working out, on the phone, or stuck in traffic).

Today’s updates are rolling out to all Android Wear watches in the coming weeks. So pick your favorite watch face, or pair up with your favorite person, and start wearing what you want.

Posted by Flavio Lerda, Software Engineer, Android Wear

A step toward better mobile experiences in Africa

If you’re online in Nigeria, chances are you’re on a smartphone. Of the more than 50 million Nigerians who use the Internet, 95% do so on a mobile device — and thanks to those devices, the number of people across Nigeria and the rest of Africa with access has grown tremendously.

However, simply having an Internet connection isn’t enough. It’s important that people getting started with the Internet have a great, reliable, and relevant experience right away. This can be a challenge in places where local content may be limited, connectivity slow or intermittent, and quality phones costly.

While there’s still much more to do, we’re excited to take a step forward in addressing some of those challenges. Today in Lagos we’re announcing new products and features made to improve people’s experience when using a mobile phone to access the Internet.

First, the Android One program is expanding to Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco with the launch of the Infinix HOT 2. This is the first Android One device made with our hardware partner Infinix, one of the hottest, fastest growing smartphone brands in Africa. Starting today, the HOT 2 is available in Nigeria at select retail outlets and online through Jumia at a recommended retail price of N17,500* (~88 USD), and it will become available in the other countries over the next few weeks.

Like all Android One phones, the HOT 2 combines a high-quality hardware experience with pure Android software. Bringing together a quad-core MediaTek processor with 1GB memory, dual SIM support, and black, white, red, blue, and gold (with 2GB memory) models, the hardware is a great complement to Lollipop 5.1.1, which provides up to 2x better performance and extended battery features. The Android One HOT 2 will also receive an update to the next version of Android (according to Infinix’s schedule), and thus stays fast and responsive over time.

Second, for people who already own a smartphone, we’re helping them get more for their MBs through a streamlined version of Google Search rolling out to devices worldwide and offering a faster experience on low RAM phones, such as those with 512MB. This feature can reduce data usage on the results page by up to 90%, while removing up to ⅓ of the time it takes to load results.

Finally, we will make the YouTube viewing experience even better by extending YouTube offline to Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt within the next few months. This feature of the YouTube app lets you store many of the videos on YouTube for up to 48 hours, so you can watch them later when your connection may be slow — or non-existent. And if you want to quickly re-watch a video with friends without waiting for it to load, that works great too.

Nearly one year ago, Google introduced the Android One program and YouTube Offline in India. Today, 6 countries in Africa — with combined populations of 379 million people — join the list of places where Android One phones are sold. We’ve been thrilled by the progress and feel humbled by the work that’s left to do. But we look forward to continuing our work with partners to ensure that people have a great way to access the Internet, using it in ways that are relevant and useful.

Posted by Caesar Sengupta, VP, Product Management

* The pricing may differ from seller to seller in offline retail stores

An Update to Nexus Devices

Security has always been a major focus for Android and Google Play: Android was built from day one with security in mind.

For example, the “Application Sandbox” model keeps applications running separately from other apps and the rest of the device to keep your data safe. With Verify Apps, over 1 billion devices are protected via Google Play, which conducts hundreds of millions of antivirus-like security scans of devices per day seamlessly in the background. Also, Android is open source so that anyone can comb through the code to identify and address potential security risks, which makes the platform stronger. In fact, the Android Security Rewards Program financially rewards security researchers who invest their time and effort in helping make Android more secure.

We believe the combination of these approaches has led to there being fewer than 0.15% of devices with any kind of potentially harmful app installed, as long as apps were installed from Google Play. (See more of our research.)

An additional approach to further increase the security of Android users involves updates to the device software. For the past three years, we have been notifying Android manufacturers every month through bulletins of security issues so that they can keep their users secure.

Nexus devices have always been among the first Android devices to receive platform and security updates. From this week on, Nexus devices will receive regular OTA updates each month focused on security, in addition to the usual platform updates. The first security update of this kind began rolling out today, Wednesday August 5th, to Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9, Nexus 10, and Nexus Player. This security update contains fixes for issues in bulletins provided to partners through July 2015, including fixes for the libStageFright issues. At the same time, the fixes will be released to the public via the Android Open Source Project. Nexus devices will continue to receive major updates for at least two years and security patches for the longer of three years from initial availability or 18 months from last sale of the device via the Google Store.

Security continues to be a top priority and monthly device updates are yet another tool to make and keep Android users safe.

Posted by Adrian Ludwig, Lead Engineer for Android Security, and Venkat Rapaka, Director of Nexus Product Management

Google Maps for Android Wear: Put the world on your wrist

Whether you’re exploring a new country or reconnecting with an old neighborhood this summer, Android Wear can help you get timely and local information, directly on your wrist. With an updated Google Maps app and API for Android Wear, it’s now even easier to know where you’re going, while leaving your phone in your pocket or purse.

Google Maps for Android Wear
Just say “Ok Google, navigate to…” to bring up Google Maps’ improved turn-by-turn guidance and full-screen navigation view on your watch. And with always-on screen support, your map view remains on your wrist in battery-saving mode, even when you’re not actively looking at your screen.

Glanceable maps in lots more apps
Many travel apps integrate with Google Maps on Android Wear to bring what’s around you to your wrist. Use HotelTonight to track hotel rates and get notified right on your watch when the price is right. Forgot to pack your toothbrush? Priceline customers can use Android Wear to locate the closest convenience store.

As you stroll through a neighborhood, Foursquare will make sure you won’t walk by and miss a restaurant’s legendary burrito. And TripAdvisor will tell you about the city’s best comedy club that you should visit now (or save for tomorrow night, directly from your watch). You’ll blend right in with the locals as you expertly navigate a new city’s public transport with Citymapper’s step-by-step directions right on your wrist.

No matter how caught up you get in your adventures, be sure to take the time to check-in with your loved ones. With Glympse on Android Wear, you won’t even need to take out your phone! And should your vacation inspire bigger life changes, use Trulia or Zillow to glance at all the home sale listings in your new, beloved neighborhood.

No matter where you go, Android Wear lets you stay on track while freeing your hands for an ice-cream cone—or two. So before you hit the road this summer, be sure to pack your Android Wear watch and your favorite travel apps.

Posted by Ben Greenwood, Product Manager, Google Maps

Android Wear: Always-on apps

Watches tell the time, all the time, helping you stay on track and make quick decisions at a glance. That’s why Android Wear supports always-on screens and always-on apps. You get the info you need as long as you need it, while saving on battery and avoiding arm twists just to wake your display.

Bring! Shopping List in normal and always-on modes.

Always-on fitness
Going out for a run? Now, you can keep an eye on distance and pace just by glancing at your watch with Endomondo, MapMyRun, and Runtastic. If golf is more your game, Golfshot gives you accurate distances from tee to pin so you can always grab the right club from your bag.

Always-on productivity
Competing in your personal weekly supermarket sweep? No need to slow down to bring out a list or phone. Just glance at your watch to see what’s next with Bring! Shopping List and Google Keep.

Always-on travel

And if you’re catching a flight, apps from American Airlines, Delta, and KLM show you flight status, gate, and seat info right on your wrist. Wearing your boarding pass keeps your phone in your bag and out of the airport lost and found.

With a wide range of Android Wear watches available in the Google Store, it’s easy to find a watch that matches your personal style. No matter which watch you choose, you’ll always be able to stay on track by keeping important info on your wrist.

Posted by Joe LaPenna, Software Engineer and Watchmaker

Google Play Music free, ad-supported radio

Music for everything you do

Need some music right now to make whatever you’re doing better? If you’re not already a Google Play Music subscriber, we’ve now got you covered. Google Play Music now has a free, ad-supported version in the U.S., giving you a new way to find just the right music and giving artists another way to earn revenue. In less time than it takes you to read this sentence, you could be exercising with Drop-a-Beat Workout, cooling off with Poolside Chic, or spending quality time with Songs To Raise Your Kids To.

At any moment in your day, Google Play Music has whatever you need music for—from working, to working out, to working it on the dance floor—and gives you curated radio stations to make whatever you’re doing better. Our team of music experts, including the folks who created Songza, crafts each station song by song so you don’t have to. If you’re looking for something specific, you can browse our curated stations by genre, mood, decade or activity, or you can search for your favorite artist, album or song to instantly create a station of similar music.

We hope you’ll enjoy it so much that you’ll consider subscribing to Google Play Music to play without ads, take your music offline, create your own playlists, and listen to any of the 30 million songs in our library on any device and as much as you’d like. You’ll also get ad-free, offline and background features for music videos on YouTube. And with or without a subscription, you can store and play up to 50,000 songs from your own collection for free.

To help you get started, check out the top 10 most popular activities on Google Play Music, with each offering several radio stations to choose from based on what you like:

The new free, ad-supported version of Google Play Music is launching first in the U.S. It’s available on the web today, and is rolling out this week to Android and iOS. And while you’re checking it all out, we’ll be catching up on our Blogged 50.

Posted by Elias Roman, product manager

Android Wear: New watch faces from around the world

Ever wish you could change your look throughout the day? With Android Wear, fashion is equal parts physical and digital. Now, in addition to our growing collection of watches, you can also pick from 1500+ downloadable watch faces to match any outfit, mood, or occasion.

Today, we’re showcasing 17 new watch faces from all over the globe—from the adorable characters of Angry Birds, Hello Kitty, and Moomin, to the elegant accessories of Cynthia Rowley, Lulu Frost, and Triwa, to eye-catching brands and artists like Bang & Olufsen, Muji, and Kevin Tong.

So whether you’re into games or glamour, you’re sure to find a watch face that lets you wear what you want.

Posted by Feng Yuan Xu, Product Marketing Manager, Android Wear

You say you want a mobile revolution...

(Cross posted on the Official Google Blog)

This morning, more than 6,000 developers descended on San Francisco’s Moscone Center to burn through 1,500 gallons of coffee and join millions of others via live stream for our 8th annual Google I/O—a time to fill people in on what we’ve been building recently, and how we’re tackling the future.

Android growth and momentum
In just a short number of years, mobile technology has completely changed the way we find information and entertainment, communicate with friends and family, and get things done. Having a supercomputer in our pocket is now second nature; today more searches on Google come from mobile than from desktop computers, and by some estimates there are more mobile devices than there are people on the planet. For evidence of the mobile revolution, look no further than the growth of Android. There are now more than one billion Android users worldwide—a long way from when we launched the first Android phone back in 2008. And there are 4,000 unique Android devices on the market, from more than 400 manufacturers and over 500 carriers.

The devices themselves have changed a lot, too. In today’s multi-screen world, you can now use Android on your phone, your tablet, your wrist, in your car and in your living room, and move seamlessly between each. Many of these new form factors have arrived just in the last year. You can now choose from seven different Android Wear watches, not to mention bands, styles, and more than 1,500 watch faces built by developers.

By the end of this year, 35 car models will offer Android Auto, helping you access Search, Maps, music and other information through your car’s controls. And the first sets running Android TV have now arrived.

With all of these new places and devices for people to use Android, developers have even more opportunities to build the apps that people use for education and engagement and entertainment. So today we talked about the new tools and features we’re giving them to build more powerful experiences on the Android platform.

M is for more performance and an improved user experience
Android M is the most powerful Android release yet, with hundreds of improvements made to the platform. Among the highlights, we’ve improved battery life and streamlined permissions for apps to make it easier for you to decide what information the apps on your phone can use. We previewed Android Pay, which lets you pay for things with your phone, without even opening an app. And we’re making it much easier to find information in apps, as well as making some important updates to Google Now (more on that below!).

Organizing the world’s information, better
Your mobile phone packs a lot of information, but it’s not always easy to find that nugget of information when you need it—as you know if you’ve ever tried to navigate your email, organize hundreds of photos across devices, or search for restaurant reviews when you’re chatting about dinner plans with friends. Luckily, finding and organizing information is something Google is good at (some might even call it our mission).

So as part of M release, we’re expanding Google Now to give people on-demand assistance in the moment they need it—like seeing if there’s an open table at a new restaurant or when and where “Pitch Perfect 2” is playing—no matter where you are on your phone. We’re also making it much easier to find new apps and in-app content—which is good news for both users and developers.

We’ve also put our years of research into machine learning to work in other ways, making Search more useful and your inbox more insightful. And now it’s also helping you make sense of all your photos. Today we launched a new Photos app that gives you a single place for all your photos and videos, and helps you sort through them more quickly, bring them to life in cool new ways, and share them however you choose.

A new platform for the Internet of Things
We’re surrounded by devices, but they often exist independently of each other. Our day-to-day lives will be much simpler when these technologies can talk to each other—if our recipe app, for example, could communicate with our smart oven to turn the temperature to exactly the right setting. Or outside the home—from transportation systems that notify commuters of schedule changes, to farms where harvesters and irrigation systems are controlled from phones.

But many roadblocks remain—the user experience is inconsistent and confusing, manufacturers often redo their work for every device, devices don’t interoperate, and developers often have no way to create great experiences across devices.

Enter Project Brillo, a new platform derived from Android that lets developers and manufacturers build connected devices. As part of Brillo, we’re introducing a communications protocol (Weave) developed in partnership with Nest, a set of developer APIs, a core set of schemas and a certification program to ensure device and app interoperability.

Although it will launch later this year, we previewed Brillo today because we’re committed to fostering a vibrant ecosystem in which we all work together to move the industry forward.

New mobile experiences
Mobile has evolved so much in the past few years, with connected screens for different experiences depending on your needs. But we are just at the start of what will prove to be a much more immersive mobile experience. At last year’s I/O we introduced Cardboard, which lets you turn your phone into a virtual reality experience. Now there are more than 500 Cardboard apps for film, games, tours and learning, and more than 1 million Cardboard viewers have been shipped. Today we announced iOS support for developers and debuted Google Expeditions, which lets students take virtual trips with Cardboard to places like the moon and underwater. We also shared a preview of Jump, which lets you capture the world in video that you can step inside of.

The next billion users
The first billion users of the Internet came online through desktops. The next billion are taking a different path to computing—coming online through mobile and smartphones—and present a unique set of opportunities and challenges. We’re working hard on ensure these people have a great experience across our products.

In addition to making devices more affordable with Chromebooks and Android One (now in seven countries), we’re making changes to ensure that our software works even where there aren’t great Internet connections. We’ve launched a streamlined version of our Search results page in 13 countries, and 73 million people now use data saver mode in Chrome to browse the web more efficiently. Finally, we previewed the new offline maps—that’s right, and it’s as simple as it sounds—maps that you can take offline, even with turn-by-turn directions.

Solving complex problems for a mobile world
From our earliest days in Search, our aim has always been to build products for everyone, applying unique technical insight to tackle big problems. That’s just as relevant in today’s mobile-centric world—from finding the information scattered across apps, to helping someone organize and share the photos of their kids; from taking people on a virtual trip to the Pyramids to helping the next billion people come online.

And by providing a platform on top of which any developer can innovate, we can reach people around the world and put the power of the Internet in their hands—no matter what device they use, where they live or who they are.

So here’s to the mobile revolution. We can’t wait to see what comes next.

Posted by Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Products

A new way for the whole family to play

Whether you’re trying to entertain a toddler on a crowded plane, encourage your child’s newfound love of reading or simply find a movie for the whole family to enjoy, finding the right content should be just a tap or two away. Parents want the best for their kids, but when it comes to digital entertainment, it can be difficult to know what to look for.

Starting today, we’re making it easier to find great family-friendly content on Google Play. Parents can now find family destinations across the Play store, with new features for browsing by age and interests. We’re also providing more useful information about apps and content on Google Play and improved tools so you can decide what’s right for your family.

Follow the family star
On the Apps, Games and Movies & TV homepages, you can now tap the Family button to browse our new family-friendly experiences. On the Books homepage, tap the Children’s Books button. Since toddlers and tweens have different interests and abilities, these pages let you browse by age range to find content that’s the best fit for your family. Whether your child is still learning shapes and colors, or is getting into more scrapes than Judy Moody, you’ll find inspiring ideas for every age. What’s more -- top charts, recommendations, and even searches from family homepages are filtered to our family-friendly catalog.

Play with your favorite characters
For many of us, childhood memories include at least one favorite character: a plucky personality from a book, the superhero from a movie or a beloved stuffed animal. Characters are just as relevant today, and Lego, Barbie and other kids and family brands are some of the most popular searches on Google Play. To help you browse Google Play content around a favorite character, we’ve created special pages featuring dozens of top characters from across the globe, like PBS KIDS, Pororo and Peppa Pig. From the Play store app, take a tour through all of our popular characters to find apps, movies, books and more from your family’s favorites.

Empowering parents
When it comes to finding content on Google Play, our goal is to empower parents by giving them practical information and better tools for making decisions. Our new family star badges convey the specific age range that an app, movie or book was designed for. On our app detail pages, you’ll now find a new label telling you when family apps are ad-supported and new locally relevant content maturity ratings. Finally, Google Play has updated parental controls, so you can restrict downloads, purchases or streaming of mature content.

We’re rolling out the new family discovery experience over the next couple weeks, and many of the best-known brands in family entertainment are celebrating along with us. Check out our featured collection of new and exclusive content, including Legacy Games’ Crayola DJ, TabTale’s Cutie Patootie, Speakaboos’ Thomas’s Musical Day for Percy, The Jim Henson Company’s Doozers-Play Along Stories, and more -- just a tap or two away.

Posted by Eunice Kim, on behalf of the Google Play team